This weekend: agony on 'The Walking Dead'

12:01 p.m. EST, October 19, 2012|By Hal Boedeker

The highlights this weekend:

1. “The Walking Dead” started its third season with huge ratings last weekend. This season’s second episode, at 9 p.m. Sunday on AMC, puts the characters through a nightmarish workout at a prison. It’s especially bad for one well-liked character. Brace yourselves, zombie-watchers, for another staggering outing.

3. CBS viewers need to prepare for possible delays Sunday. WKMG-Channel 6 will show a football doubleheader. The CBS lineup is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. with “60 Minutes,” which offers an interview with “Lincoln” director Steven Spielberg. But football may push back the start times. The scheduled times: “The Amazing Race” at 8:30, “The Good Wife” at 9:30 and “The Mentalist” at 10:30.

4. Bruno Mars is the host and musical guest on “Saturday Night Live” at 11:30 p.m. Saturday on NBC. The second presidential debate will certainly provide a lot of material.

5. Alfred Hitchcock fans may want to look at ”The Girl” at 9 p.m. Saturday on HBO. The TV movie explores the turbulent relations between the film director (played by Toby Jones) and Tippi Hedren (Sienna Miller), the star of “The Birds” and “Marnie.” Hitch helped make her a star, but he treated the young woman shabbily, the movie explains in chilling detail. Neither Jones nor Miller seems quite right. He is too obviously made up for his showy role, and she can’t capture Hedren’s luminous style. The main value of “The Girl”: It makes you want to see ”The Birds” and “Marnie” again.

6. “Nikita” starts its new season at 9 p.m. Friday on The CW. “CSI: NY” has settled into its new time slot, at 9, on CBS. But the show that’s coming on strong on Friday is “Shark Tank” at 8 on ABC.

ABC will follow it with “Primetime: What Would You Do?” and “20/20.” “Primetime” visits the game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” and host Meredith Vieira. And “20/20″ offers Chris Cuomo’s exclusive interview with Aaron Fisher, Victim 1 in the Jerry Sandusky case. Fisher has written a book, “Silent No More.”